What Doesn't Kill You
by TheLestrangeMistress
Summary: Hermione finds out that Ron cheated on her, but when he tells his family that it was the other way around she fights to prove the truth. She comes up with an elaborate scheme to get revenge.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I had this plot bunny a few years ago but didn't start writing it until recently. There is a little Weasley bashing but that's mainly due to their attitude towards Hermione than anything else.**

Hermione felt like her heart was breaking all over again. There was so much she wanted to say, to ask, but the look in Molly Weasley's eye stopped her from doing so.

She knew that the Weasley matriarch would be upset at her and Ron's break up, but she could not understand what she had done to warrant her anger. After all, it was Ron who she had found in bed with another witch, and it had been Ron who had told her that he had never loved her and that she was just someone who would bear his children and keep his home.

"What are you doing here? How dare you show your face after what you have done to my son!" Molly roared.

Instinctively, Hermione took a step backwards. She heard chairs scrape against the kitchen floor and several quick footsteps walking towards the door as Molly Weasley finished her question.

They were all there now; the people she had called her family. They were all staring at her with expressions ranging from fury to puzzlement.

"What do you mean? What did Ron tell you?" Hermione asked dreading the answer.

"That he came home and found you in bed with another wizard, and that you told him that you never loved him and were waiting for someone better to come along," Molly explained with suppressed anger.

Hermione felt like she had been punched. Ron had told them the opposite of what had happened. Instead of owning up to his mistakes, he had told them that _she_ had been the one to betray him.

Before she could say anything Ginny snarled, "How could you do that Hermione? You knew how Ron felt about you!"

"I didn't. He's lying. I was the one who found him like that," Hermione pleaded tears falling down her cheeks.

"Don't you dare lie to us! Ron said you would do this. You are no longer welcome here," Molly said with menace.

Gathering her strength Hermione said "Fine, but don't expect me to accept your apology when you find out he's lied to you."

She turned her back and walked to the apparition point barely keeping herself together.

Once Hermione returned to her parent's old house she crumpled into a heap on the floor and sobbed. She could not believe Ron would do this to her. At the thought of him a strangled cry escaped her throat. She was angry at him for doing this to her, yet she was devastated at losing him.

He had been her best friend for seven years, and they had gone to hell and back together but it had meant nothing to him. _She_ had meant nothing to him. She loved him, and she would have died for him if she had to.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione sat up.

 _I can do this. I can pick myself up and put myself back together again. I am a war survivor and I will survive this. I will let no one and nothing stop me. I am Hermione Granger and I can do anything._

She stood up, took off her shoes, and went to bed. Tomorrow was another day, and she would face whatever came with it.

Hermione woke with a heavy heart and at first she didn't realise why until the events from the previous night came rushing back.

She felt like someone had ripped out her insides the pain was that bad. She had lost her family because of him.

 _But they weren't your family,_ a snide voice reminded her.

Hermione sighed. The voice was right they were Ron's family, and she was only a part of it because of him.

She wondered what Harry would do. Would he take Ron's side as he did the majority of the time? Or would he know that it was something she could never do?

Trying to take her mind off what her friends would think, Hermione went to her desk in the next room and pulled out some parchment. At the top she wrote:

 _Operation Veritas_

She was determined that she would expose Ron's lies both to his family and the rest of the wizarding world. Hermione needed to create an elaborate scheme in which Ron would ultimately incriminate himself, but she needed help to do it.

Although Hermione was clever she needed someone who knew more about the wizarding world than herself and had the perfect person in mind.

Draco Malfoy had suffered several taunts and cruel jokes from Ron ever since the war had ended. Hermione had told Ron many times that Draco had been coerced and pressured into doing Voldemort's bidding, but he had taken no notice and carried on anyway. He also had been taught about what was expected of him in wizarding society from the time he could learn until he graduated from Hogwarts. In addition, Draco might be able to help her formulate her scheme as his own revenge against Ron.

Getting another piece of parchment from the draw, Hermione wrote a letter to him.

 _Draco,_

 _I know that we are not close friends, but I would like your help. I have a sensitive matter which I would like your guidance and advice on. Would you be willing to meet with me?_

 _Hermione Granger_

Hermione looked at the letter one more time before she placed it in an envelope and sent it off with her owl. She then sat down and stared at the empty parchment underneath and eventually began to outline several plans she could put in place. They were all elaborate and would require consent from a number of different people which would make it harder for the plan to succeed.

A few hours later Hermione heard a popping noise which alerted her that she had a visitor.

"Hermione!" called a muffled voice she recognised as Harry's came from downstairs.

"I'm upstairs in my study," Hermione called back.

She could hear him come into the hall and walk upstairs. It had given her time to hide the plans from him and pull out some of her regular work.

When Hermione saw Harry's face she knew that he had been told Ron's version of the story, and that he would probably take his side over hers.

"What's going on Hermione? I went over to the Burrow this morning and all I've heard is that you cheated on Ron and that you have split up," Harry asked uncertainly.

"He's lying Harry. I know what he's told you, and if you switched our places around then you would get the true story. I would never have done that to him. I would never have betrayed him. I love him and it's breaking me that he could do this," Hermione answered emotionally whilst looking into Harry's eyes.

"I don't want to believe it. I know that you wouldn't do it, but I can't believe that Ron would either. He always loved you. He was jealous of ever guy who was close to you, even me." Harry said closing his eyes.

"I know you don't Harry. I don't really want to believe it either, but he did do that to me," she said quietly.

Opening his eyes, Harry moved forward and hugged her.

"I believe you," Harry whispered.

"Thank you. I was afraid that you would believe him and choose his friendship over mine again."

"Not over this. I know you would never be as cruel as that."

"Harry, what are you going to do?" Hermione asked quietly.

"I don't know what to do with Ron. He's my friend and I don't want to lose him, but I also want him to know that I'm on your side. I just know that it's not going to work," Harry sighed. "There is one thing I do know though."

"What's that?" Hermione asked.

"I will make sure that they and everyone else knows that I'm standing by you." Harry answered.

"Thank you, Harry."

"It's no problem. I've got to go to work otherwise I will be late."

"See you soon," Hermione said smiling slightly.

"Owl me if you need anything," he said walking out of the room as he went to the fireplace.

Now Hermione was alone, the reality of her the situation set in.

She no longer had a wizarding family, and she was unsure which of her friends would also standby her.

Hermione had no doubt that Ron would tell them his version of events as soon as he could, but hoped that some of them had enough sense to not believe him.

Her thoughts turned to the letter she had sent to Draco Malfoy. Had she been rash to owl him? Would he really risk his new reputation to help her?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter. I am glad that you liked it :) This chapter is 1418 words long and is for the September fanfic month on HSOWAW.**

Hermione couldn't believe that it had only been a week since she had found Ron cheating on her. So much had happened since that it felt a lot longer.

Rumours of their split had started the very next day and since the blame was being put on her, Hermione knew that they must have been coming from the Weasley family. Rita Skeeter had picked up on the gossip immediately and the headline _Heartless Hermione_ was printed on the front page the next day with an article full of of her usual rubbish.

The day after she received an owl from Draco.

 _Hermione,_

 _Can you meet me a Giovanni's for lunch tomorrow around 12:30? We can talk about your Weasley problem then. I assume that was the 'sensitive matter' you wanted to discuss,_

 _Draco Malfoy_

Short and to the point as always. There were no mixed words with Draco even after they had become tentative friends.

Hermione sent an owl back saying she would be there and all to soon she was standing outside of the restaurant waiting for him.

Once they had sat down and covered the pleasantries Draco asked ,"So what exactly do you need my advice about, Hermione?"

"I want him to pay for what he's done. Not just the cheating but the lying after too. I need a plan which is subtle and cunning, and although I have the bare bones of one I need help to flesh it out a little," she confessed.

Draco was silent for a moment before he answered.

"There are many ways you could do this depending on just how much you want to humiliate him. You could be plotting for a few months at least with some of them," he admitted.

"I know, and I'm sure about what I want. His family need to see him for who he really is."

"So what plans have you-"

"Hermione!" a voice roared cutting Draco off.

Hermione closed her eyes and steeled herself. She knew that she would have to face Ron at some point but didn't think it would be now.

"Yes, Ronald," she said turning around to face him.

"What have you been telling, Harry?" he asked furiously.

"The truth, Ronald. I have told Harry nothing but the truth."

"Liar. You've been feeding him your lies and tried to turn him against me," Ron snarled.

"I have never tried to turn Harry against you. I told him the truth and he believed me. If you don't like it then tough," Hermione said shaking her head.

"Potter is a grown man, Weasley. I am sure he can make up his own mind without being told to by somebody else," Draco injected.

"I wasn't asking you ferret," Ron snapped, "You cursed him didn't you? I wouldn't put it past you to try. If Harry wasn't friends with you then nobody would be," Ron said maliciously.

"That is where you are wrong, Ronald. I happen to have quite a few friends which don't give a rats ass about my friendship with Harry. Draco is one, as well as Daphne and Theo. They are friends with me because they want to be, not because Harry is. I suggest you leave before you embarrass yourself even further," Hermione said dismissively.

At that point the manager came over and asked Ron to leave.

"Okay, okay, I'm going," he said moodily as he was escorted out of the door.

"Well that little outburst will surely go in your favour. I didn't realise Potter had grown some balls and actually sided with you on this one. You would think he wouldn't want to upset the rest of Weaslebee's family," Draco observed.

"Harry doesn't want to believe that Ron would do something like that, but he knows that I would never lie about it. I am sure he's finding it hard standing up to them as they are the closest thing he has to a family," Hermione explained.

"Are you including him in your plan?"

"No, I think asking him to turn on Ron like that is too much," Hermione said shaking her head.

"So tell me, what exactly is your plan?" Draco asked curiously.

"Well the first one is that I find the woman he cheated on me with and try to convince her to tell the truth but I don't think she will. The second is to wait until he is in a relationship and spring a honey trap. The only problem with that is no one can no that I'm involved otherwise everyone will think I'm out to ruin his life."

"I agree that the first is never going to happen, the second has merit but you could be waiting years for him to be in a relationship and that's simply too long to wait. What were your other plans?" He asked.

"I was hoping if you could help me see if he had broken any major wizarding traditions which should be followed. I know the Weasley's are not the most...conventional of families, but surely there is something he could have done to violate one of the fundamental rules," Hermione replied.

Draco snorted.

"He's broken a dozen at least, but none of them would have the outcome you want."

"What do you mean?"

"The worst one he has broken is moving in with you before the two of you were married. In the eyes of wizarding society you are ruined, and the only way to redeem yourself would be to marry the person who ruined you. What you really want is for whoever this witch is to be pregnant, especially if they are a pureblood. It would mean that he would have to marry them as they are not as 'redeemable' as you."

"He knew that, didn't he? He knew he would be limiting my chances of a relationship if we ever split up?" Hermione asked angrily.

"I'm sorry, Hermione but he probably did. It was the reason why Daphne and Astoria tried to talk you out of it so much. I know that Astoria's father would demand me to marry her if she spent just one night at the Manor unchaperoned," Draco informed her.

Silence enveloped them for a few moments.

"Thank you, Draco. I knew he could be a prat but I never guessed just how much of a prat he actually was. Will you teach me about these traditions and rules? I don't want to be caught out again and it could be useful getting revenge," Hermione said sincerely.

"I will do my best, but you should also talk to Daphne and Astoria. Men and women have different rules and they will be able to tell you more about what is expected of you," Draco said agreeing to help his friend.

The rest of the lunch went by without any interruptions and Draco and Hermione parted ways promising that they would meet up again soon.

When Hermione arrived back to the house, there were a dozen or so unopened letters on the kitchen table as well as scorch marks where howlers had obviously exploded.

Summoning her dragon hide gloves, Hermione carefully sorted through what was from her friends and what was hatemail. The incident with the undiluted Bubotuber Pus firmly in the back of her mind when dealing with these kind of letters.

Once she had vanished the ones which were full of insults, Hermione noticed that there was a letter from her boss.

Hermione felt a sense of dread well up.

 _If this has got me sacked I will kill him,_ she thought.

Opening the letter, Hermione sighed in relief.

 _Dear Miss Granger,_

 _I know that you are on annual leave at the moment, but I would appreciate you arranging to come and see me when you receive this letter._

 _Normally an employee would not need to talk about their private life with me or the press department, but the board feels that we need to discuss a strategy in dealing with all the negative attention you are getting at the moment._

 _Hopefully something can be done as you are one of our most competent researchers and developers. It would be a shame to lose an asset such as yourself._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Andrew Thompson_

 _Head researcher at Duke's Spell Creations_

Talking to her boss and the company's press department would be humiliating, but at the same time at least she would get her side of the story out to more people. She could only hope that they would believe her.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello! I just wanted to let you all know that I am aiming to update this once a month. As i work in retail however, things tend to get a little busier around this time of year so I might not start it properly until the new year. This chapter also counts towards the october writing month and is 2,644 words.**

Hermione headed into work to talk to her boss, Andrew Thomas, and the press department to do some damage control. She hoped more than anything that they could find a solution which didn't end in her losing her job.

"Take a seat, Hermione. I know that the company does not usually take an active interest in the personal lives of its staff, but as you are one of our top employees and also a national icon we feel it is imperative to have your side of the story," Andrew informed her.

He was a kind, middle aged man, who Hermione could count on being forthright with her; even if she didn't like what he had to say.

"I understand, Andrew."

"Good. The man next to me is Jack Chambers. He is in charge of all the company's press releases and will be handling any queries in regards to your situation," he said introducing her to the man beside him.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Granger. I do wish it was on better terms though. As Andrew explained I will need a full account of what happened to counteract any negative press and perhaps even try to put a positive spin on things," Mr Chambers said.

"There isn't much really to tell. It's the exact opposite of what he's claiming happened."

"What do you mean, Miss Granger?" Chambers said as he pulled out a quick notes quill.

"I returned home from work on the 23rd April to find him in bed with another witch. He followed me out of the bedroom and said he did it because I was too frigid for him. He told me that he never loved me, and that he was just waiting for a better witch to come along before he dumped me. I know he's saying that it was the other way round, but it really wasn't. I had been nothing but faithful to him the whole time we were together," Hermione told him.

She hoped that they believed her but knew it was probably a long shot.

"Have you tried to locate the witch in question?" Chambers asked her.

"You believe me?"

"I do, Miss Granger. I saw both the original article as well as the one published after he approached you having lunch at Giovanni's. The fact that Mr Potter has taken your side is enough to sow doubts in the minds of the general wizarding population and that is something which we can use to our advantage. Have you located the witch?"

"I'm afraid not. I didn't really get a good look at her. The only thing I remember is that she had dark hair, but that hardly narrows it down," Hermione replied frowning.

Professor McGonagall had even let her use the Pensieve stored at Hogwarts to try and get a better view of the witch in question, but the memory was so quick she could only get flashes and nothing concrete. There was something familiar about the witch, however, Hermione couldn't figure out what it was.

"That's a shame as it's the only real lead you had."

"I know. I will still try, but I might hire a private investigator to see what they can dig up. If they were able to find irrefutable proof that he had cheated on me before then maybe people would question his side of the story. What do you plan on doing now?" she asked.

"We have drafted a short statement already stating your personal life has had no impact on your employment here and that you will be staying with us for the foreseeable future. If we face a backlash after that, which I hope we don't, then we will have to release another statement, or you will have to do a short interview with a publication of your choice," he informed her.

"Thank you. I hope I don't have to do an interview either, but if I did then please contact Luna Lovegood who works for The Quibbler. She is the only journalist I trust not to twist my words."

Chambers nodded his head as he made sure her request was recorded.

"I think that is all for the moment. As you are doing research for your next spell, Hermione, you are welcome to work from home with the usual conditions once you come back off your leave," Andrew told her.

"Thank you, Andrew, but I think it would be better if I worked at the office. I don't want to hide away as people might start to believe I have something to be guilty of."

"Very well. I will see you next Monday then, goodbye."

"Goodbye Andrew, Mr Chambers," Hermione said before walking out of the office building.

Hermione had thought long and hard about where she wanted to go with her plan and hiring a private investigator to look into Ron seemed be a good start. It meant that she could potentially save many hours slaving over elaborate schemes of revenge which could end in nothing. The only thing was finding a reputable PI who would take one her case.

 _Harry probably knows some from working as an Auror,_ she thought.

Hermione had been both grateful and overwhelmed with the fact that Harry had stuck by her side despite Ron trying to convince him several times that she had been the one in the wrong. It spoke volumes on how much her friend knew her to be able to do that.

She had been let down and disappointed with Harry before when he had taken Ron's side over hers. Maybe she had gone the wrong way about it (like the Firebolt in third year), but she had only ever been trying to help him. Perhaps now they were both adults and more mature they were able to look at situation better than before.

 _Or maybe it's because of his job,_ she thought.

After training as an Auror, Harry was not so quick to take sides but weighed up all the evidence he had before him before making a decision. He seemed to have extended this into his personal life as well.

Whenever there had been a disagreement between two of his friends (normally Ron and Hermione), he would listen to both sides and try to find a way to get them talking again. He never took for granted that one of them was telling the whole truth until now.

Harry had confessed to her that he hadn't given Ron a chance to explain the truth since he couldn't believe that his friend would accuse her of something so ridiculous.

" _I'm sorry that Ron disturbed your lunch with Malfoy. I think it's because I've been ignoring him since that morning I left The Burrow to come and see you. He's tried to see me at work but I've been pretending that I'm busy," Harry told her._

" _Don't apologise for his actions, Harry. He's probably angry about it because he knows how big of deal it is for you to stand my by side and not his. People aren't outright believing his story the way they would if you had stood by him, and he doesn't like it," Hermione replied shaking her head._

" _If I'd seen him and explained things to him then maybe he -"_

" _Still would have done it," Hermione said cutting him off. "We both know what Ron is like when he gets something into his head, Harry. He's always been hot headed and prone to make rash decisions, but a scandal like this could ruin him for life. Especially if it comes out that he lied about me cheating on him. No decent witch would want to marry him and that's what he wants in the end."_

" _I can't believe I didn't know any of this before. Do you think Malfoy would help me learn some of it? I know I've made mistakes in the past, but hopefully it will stop me from making a few more," Harry asked._

" _Why don't you owl him and ask? Or why don't you ask Neville. I am sure he would know these etiquette rules too," she suggested._

It was typical of Harry to try and make amends for other people's actions; even if he could have done nothing about them. Hermione knew that it stemmed from his childhood and the way his aunt and uncle had treated him. The practice was so ingrained in him that she never thought he would ever grow out of it.

Hermione had been surprised and glad, to find that Harry would willingly ask Draco for help despite the fact that they still didn't get on. Perhaps if Harry hadn't so readily rebuffed Draco's hand of friendship on the Hogwarts Express then things might have been different. She was sure that that was one of the first things about social etiquette in the Wizarding world that he had broken.

Once she reached her parents house there were three owls waiting for her. One was from Daphne confirming that their lunch was still on tomorrow at one o'clock, and that Astoria and her mother would also be there as well. The second one was another letter from Ron asking her to release Harry from whatever spell she had put him under, and the last was from Charlie.

She opened the letter carefully and let out the breath she had been holding as she scanned through its contents.

 _Hermione,_

 _I know that you're not expecting to hear from me, but I have been informed by my family in several letters Ron's side of things, and I have also received a letter from Harry telling me yours. I wanted to let you know that I believe you. I wish a part of me could deny that Ron would never have done that to you, but after finding out that he never informed you of the potential ramifications of you moving in together tells me everything._

 _I also wanted to tell you that not everyone in my family believes Ron's side of the story. They are keeping quiet at the moment because as a family we have to present a united front, but if the shit were to hit the fan I know at least two of my brothers would take your side._

 _If you wanted to talk then owl me any time you want,_

 _Charlie_

Hermione felt something settle inside her at his words. To finally hear that not all of the Weasley's were on Ron's side eased the ache that the family had left a little. Although it was clear from what he said that they could only support her publicly once it had come out that she had been the injured party. It also highlighted the fact that Ginny would not stand by her at all, but Hermione expected that as they had fallen out after Ginny and Harry had split up for good.

For some reason the other girl thought that she was the reason Harry had decided to end their relationship and had whispered in Ron's ear about it ever since. It was the reason Ron had become jealous of her friendships with other men, even when it was obvious that nothing was going on.

The rest of the day was spent doing research for the next spell she wanted to create before she prepared a quick meal for herself and went to bed.

-0-0-0-

At five to one the next afternoon Hermione appeared outside of the Greengrass estate and walked up to the front door and knocked.

The door opened to reveal Louise Greengrass, Daphne and Astoria's mother.

Her long blond hair was pulled backwards and she was wearing a set of lavender robes. She looked more like an older sister to the girls than their mother, but her friends had confessed that Daphne was born only eighteen months after Louisa had graduated.

"Hello, Hermione. Please come in, the girls will only be a moment," she informed her.

"Thank you, Louisa," Hermione said following the older woman down the hall.

"I heard that you had quite a shock the other day when you dined with Draco. How have you been?"

"Angry, and upset. Mostly at myself for not bothering to learn everything about wizarding society that I should. I made an effort to learn about all different branches of magic and how they are used, but I never once thought about learning about the wizarding world itself. I should have, and maybe I wouldn't be in this situation if I had," Hermione confessed.

Over the past year she had grown quite close to Daphne and Astoria, and in turn their mother. Sometimes it was painful to watch the three of them together knowing that she would never have that with her own mother again.

Hermione had found out just after the war had finished that her parents had died in a boating accident just one month before she arrived to reverse their memories. It had devastated her and she had leaned on Ron for support.

"It's not entirely your fault, Hermione," Daphne said walking into the room behind them followed by Astoria and took the sofa opposite to her normal chair.

"What do you mean?" hermione asked her brow furrowed.

"The wizarding world, and Hogwarts could have made more of an effort to educate Muggleborns about our society, but they didn't. I think that many of the old pureblood families had the biggest sway outside of Hogwarts which was why nothing was done that side of it, but Dumbledore had complete control of Hogwarts except in our fifth year there. He could have started a class on etiquette, or he could have given instructions to the professors who visited Muggleborns to provide some basic information," Daphne explained.

"You're right, it was partly my fault and mostly theirs. Before I forget I got a letter from Charlie Weasley last night. I haven't written back to him yet as I thought i would see what you said about it first," Hermione told them.

"What does it say?" Astoria asked.

Hermione took the letter out of her bag and read it out loud for them all to hear it.

"I'd be careful, Hermione. There is no guarantee that what he is saying is true, and it could be a ruse to gain information from you about what you know," Louisa warned her.

"I did think that, but it doesn't fit with what I know about Charlie himself. He is usually honest about how he feels and if someone or something has annoyed him he won't hold back about what he thinks about it," Hermione said defending him.

"If you think you can trust him then do so, but don't tell him everything."

"I don't think he would expect me to tell him everything. I will say thank you for his support, and that I am trying to prove that Ron's lying," Hermione told them.

"You should also tell him that you're learning social etiquette as well," Astoria suggested.

"I don't think that would be a good idea, Astoria," Louisa said shaking her head.

"Why not? The family know that Hermione won't be able to use it against Ron as she doesn't want to be married to the pig. All it will do is inform Charlie that she knows how far the betrayal runs. It may even scare the family witless as they know how powerful Hermione is," Astoria explained.

Hermione thought that the younger witch had a valid point and would subtly put it into her letter to him.

A few hours later after they had discussed many social protocols, Hermione was ready to go home.

Overall, she thought that the wizarding world was much like Victorian England when it came to their social, courting, and marriage etiquette. So long as she could channel her inner Jane Austin she would be alright.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here we go! I know it's been a long time coming and I'm sorry. I have been working on it and lots of other things as well. I want to warn you that Hermione is a little OOC in this chapter, but I hope you can forgive me for it. It's a nice length chapter (1,437 words).**

Three months passed and Hermione's plan for revenge had stalled. There had been no luck finding the witch Ron had slept with, and they weren't able to spring a honey trap as he hadn't entered another relationship. It seemed as if she would never get to tell the world the truth.

Hermione heard the floo activate in the hall and wondered who was coming to see her as she wasn't expecting anyone until tomorrow.

"Hermione!" Draco called.

"I'm in the kitchen," she replied.

As Draco Malfoy walked through the door she could tell that there was something very wrong.

"Have you spoken to Astoria yet?" he asked demandingly.

"No, why?" Hermione replied taken aback by his tone.

He had never spoken to her that way since school, and it frightened her to think about why he would do so now.

"She's pregnant. She's saying that it's mine even though we have never…" he said trailing off.

Hermione understood immediately.

As she was now one of Astoria's closest friends Draco obviously thought that she might know the truth of the matter. The fact was Hermione didn't know anything and was just as confused as Draco seemed to be.

"I can't believe she's done this to me. I thought after seeing everything you have been through it would put her off doing anything like this," he rambled.

"Do you have any idea who the father may be?" Hermione asked.

"No. All I know is that it isn't Theo, Blaise, Adrian, or any other family who adhere to the old ways. They wouldn't risk their own betrothals to bed another pureblood witch,"

"I will talk to her and try to find out for you-"

"There's no point! She will just tell you that it's me!"

Hermione decided not to say anything and just let Draco calm down.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean to shout at you, but we both know that she will stick to saying its mine," Draco apologised.

"Do you know how far along she is? It could help narrow down who the father could be," Hermione suggested.

"She said that the healer thought she was three months gone," he informed her.

Hermione's brow furrowed.

"What are you thinking?" Draco asked.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Hermione replied.

"It's obviously not if you're thinking about it."

"I broke up with Ron three months ago, and I've never found out who the witch was," Hermione stated hoping that she was wrong.

Draco stared at her as if she had grown another head.

"That makes perfect sense," he finally said.

"It doesn't make sense at all. It could be anyone," Hermione said doubting her original thought.

"Yes it does. Astoria knows that Ron doesn't follow the rules at all and that he wouldn't care about her being pregnant. He would shame her and because of that she would insist that I was the father so she could secure her and her child's future. With the types of vows that we take you cannot undo them and there would be nothing I could do once the baby is born and we find out that it's not mine. I would be the one who was shamed because I had been fooled by her," Draco explained.

Hermione had to admit that a lot of it made sense to her, but didn't want to think that one of her close friends would betray her like that.

"I know you don't want it to be true. Neither do I, but we can't ignore the possibility that it might be," he said gently.

"I know we can't," she admitted. "How do you suggest we approach it?"

"Well, we will need solid evidence before we even think about going to her father. He would take nothing less than that to convince him she lying."

"You can start by going over your calendar to see what you were doing three months ago. That way you know who to ask if you need an alibi. I could try and snoop through her diary to see if there is anything in that," Hermione commented making a mental checklist.

"I don't think I've ever truly appreciated your organisational skills until now," Draco said gratefully.

"Just don't tell Astoria that I'm helping you. If we keep it a secret then she might open up to me."

"Are you sure the hat didn't want to put you on Slytherin?"

"It did consider Slytherin, but it dismissed it pretty quickly because of my blood. It was then between a toss up between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, and we know how that turned out," Hermione admitted.

"We sure do. How are you going to bring up the pregnancy with Astoria?" he enquired.

"I'm not. If I do then she will know I've been speaking to you and would probably distance herself from me. I'm also going to have to make her think that I believe her story."

"Why are you so certain that I am telling the truth?" Draco asked curiously.

"The expression on your face when you said that you couldn't believe that she had done that to you. There were emotions there that you just couldn't fake," she told him.

"Thank you, Hermione," he said.

"There's no need to thank me yet. I haven't done anything."

"You believe me, and that's something.I better go back now and face my father," he said wincing.

"He's not going to take it well at all is he?"

"No, but at least I know he will try and do everything he can to stop a wedding," Draco sighed.

"I will owl you if I make any progress," Hermione told him.

"See you soon, Hermione," Draco said before going out the way he came in.

 _Can it really be that simple?_ Hermione thought.

A large part of her brain was saying no, but another part was saying yes.

It would explain why Astoria was vehemently outspoken against her decision to move in with Ron more than her other friends. At first it seemed to be a bit odd, but after Hermione had found out about the traditions she thought that is was just concern. Now, however, it may have been because Astoria knew that the relationship wouldn't last and would have devastating consequences for her.

-0-0-0-

A few days later Hermione flooed over to the Greengrass estate after being invited to lunch.

"Hello, Hermione," Astoria said as she walked into the drawing room.

"Hello, Astoria. How have you been?"

"Not so good. I have something I need your help with," Astoria confessed.

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

 _I have to remember to act surprised,_ she thought.

"I'm pregnant, and Draco is denying that he's the father. I don't know what to do. I have to prove he is otherwise I will be ruined," Astoria said as she started to panic.

"Calm down, Astoria. You could hurt the baby if you get too stressed," Hermione said trying to soothe her. "Now, tell me everything in detail."

And Astoria did. From how she and Draco managed to meet up without the prying eyes of their family, how they drank too much, and now how he denied that it had ever happened.

Even if Hermione hadn't spoken to Draco, things didn't make any sense at all. If they really had made a mistake then why wouldn't Draco own up to it? They were betrothed so the child would still be a Malfoy if they married before it was born. It seemed as if Astoria hadn't thought her story through very well.

"Are you sure no one saw you?" Hermione asked.

"I'm sure, I really wish someone had though," Astoria said sighing.

Now Hermione had spoken to her friend she was sure that Draco wasn't the father, but it didn't get her any closer to finding out who was. It was all well and good speculating that it may be Ron's, but there was no solid evidence and that is what they needed.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Can you talk to Draco and try to find out why he's saying it's not his?" Astoria asked.

"Of course," Hermione replied.

The rest of lunch was spent talking about trivial things such as the new Weird Sisters album, the latest victim of Rita Skeeter's acid quill, and Hermione's holiday to Australia.

It gave Hermione time to think about everything before forming a new plan to get to the truth.

Hermione hoped that her gut instinct was wrong and that it wasn't Ron who was the child's father. To be betrayed by him was one thing, but to betrayed by Astoria was another.


End file.
